System and method for prior art analysis

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for prior art analysis are provided. An example method comprises maintaining a patent matter database including, for at least one patent matter, a claim set or statement of invention, and a priority date. The method also includes maintaining a database of prior art documents and associating a prior art document with a first patent matter in the patent matter database. An automatic keyword analysis is performed on both the first patent matter and associated prior art document and a keyword pool is identified. Combined information is provided at a user interface information including at least identification of the first patent matter, the keyword pool, at least one keyword occurring uniquely in the first patent matter, and a timeline representing the priority date of the first patent matter and the priority or publication date of the prior art document.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priorityunder 35 U.S.C. §120 to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/253,801,filed on Oct. 5, 2011, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e)of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/542,545 filed Oct. 3,2011, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties andmade a part hereof.

BACKGROUND

The management of a patent portfolio involves multiple stages.Initially, a decision must be made as to what inventions are worth theinvestment of filing a patent application. Then, each filed patentapplication goes through prosecution with the patent office. Finally,for each patent that is allowed, maintenance fees must be paid at avariety of intervals to keep the patent in force.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Some embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation inthe figures of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of computer network system 100 according tovarious embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a user interface, as may be used in an example embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a system, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a user interface, as may be used in an example embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a method of analyzing prior art,according to various method embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The management of a patent portfolio involves multiple stages.Initially, a decision must be made as to what inventions are worth theinvestment of filing a patent application. Then, each filed patentapplication goes through prosecution with the patent office. Finally,for each patent that is allowed, maintenance fees must be paid at avariety of intervals to keep the patent in force. At each stage thereare opportunities to stop spending the time and resources to obtain andmaintain a patent.

In order to make knowledgeable choices the manager of the portfolio maywant to know a variety of information. For example, before payingmaintenance fees of an issued patent, a manager may want to know theestimated cost of the annuities over the life of the patent, whether thepatent covers any current products of a company, whether the patentcovers competitors patents, whether the patent is related to a licensingagreement, how influential a patent is, and what companies have beenpatenting recently. In a further example, before an invention disclosureor patent application is even approved for filing, a patent portfoliomanager may want to assess the impact of the prior art known at thattime. New prior art may also come to light later on which may affect amanager's decision to authorize subsequent annuity payments. In thefast-moving world of today, there are increasing pressures to makedecisions quickly. In various embodiments, a patent portfolio andannuity management system (hereinafter also referred to as “annuitymanagement system” or “management system”) provides tools to quicklyprovide information and facilitate the manager's decisions with respectto patent portfolio management.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of computer network system 100 according tovarious embodiments. The computer network system 100 includes patentportfolio and annuity management system 102 and user terminal 104,communicatively coupled via network 106. In an embodiment, patentportfolio and annuity management system 102 includes web server 108,application server 110, database management server 114, which is used tomanage at least operations database 116, and file server 118. Patentportfolio and annuity management system 102 may be implemented as adistributed system, for example one or more elements of the managementsystem 102 may be located across a wide-area network from other elementsof vehicle evaluation system 102. As another example, a server (e.g.,web server 108, file server 118, database management server 114) mayrepresent a group of two or more servers, cooperating with each other,provided by way of a pooled, distributed, or redundant computing model.

Network 106 may include local-area networks (LAN), wide-area networks(WAN), wireless networks (e.g., 802.11 or cellular network), the PublicSwitched Telephone Network (PSTN) network, ad hoc networks, personalarea networks (e.g., Bluetooth) or other combinations or permutations ofnetwork protocols and network types. The network 106 may include asingle local area network (LAN) or wide-area network (WAN), orcombinations of LAN's or WAN's, such as the Internet. The variousdevices coupled to network 106 may be coupled to network 106 via one ormore wired or wireless connections.

Web server 108 may communicate with file server 118 to publish or servefiles stored on file server 118. Web server 108 may also communicate orinterface with the application server 110 to enable web-basedpresentation of information. For example, application server 110 mayconsist of scripts, applications, or library files that provide primaryor auxiliary functionality to web server 108 (e.g., multimedia, filetransfer, or dynamic interface functions). In addition, applicationserver 110 may also provide some or the entire interface for web server108 to communicate with one or more of the other servers in the patentportfolio and annuity management system 102 (e.g., database managementserver 114). Web server 108, either alone or in conjunction with one ormore other computers in management system 102, may provide auser-interface. The user-interface may be implemented using a variety ofprogramming languages or programming methods, such as HTML (HyperTextMarkup Language), VBScript (Visual Basic® Scripting Edition),JavaScript™, XML® (Extensible Markup Language), XSLT™ (ExtensibleStylesheet Language Transformations), AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript andXML), Java™, JFC (Java™ Foundation Classes), and Swing (an ApplicationProgramming Interface for Java™).

User terminal 104 may be a personal computer or mobile device. In anembodiment, user terminal 104 includes a client program to interfacewith the management system 102. The client program may includecommercial software, custom software, open source software, freeware,shareware, or other types of software packages. In an embodiment, theclient program includes a thin client designed to provide query and datamanipulation tools for a user of user terminal 104. The client programmay interact with a server program hosted by, for example, applicationserver 110. Additionally, the client program may interface with databasemanagement server 114.

Operations database 116 may be composed of one or more logical orphysical databases. For example, operations database 116 may be viewedas a system of databases that when viewed as a compilation, represent an“operations database.” Sub-databases in such a configuration may includea matter database, portfolio database, user database, patent referencedocument or prior art database, product database, watch database, andmapping database. Operations database 116 may be implemented as arelational database, a centralized database, a distributed database, anobject oriented database, or a flat database in various embodiments.

Data stored in a first database may be associated with data in a seconddatabase through the use of common data fields. For example, considerentries in the patent database formatted as [Patent ID, Patent Number]and entries in the product database formatted as [Product ID, ProductName, Patent ID]. In this manner, a product entry in the productdatabase is associated with a patent in the patent database through thePatent ID data field. In various embodiments, a product may beassociated with more than one patent by creating multiple entries in theproduct database, one for each patent the product is associated with. Inother embodiments, one or more patent reference documents may beassociated with a patent by creating multiple entries in the patentdatabase, for example. The formats and data field titles are forillustration purposes and other names and formats may be used.Additionally, further associations between data stored in the databasesmay be created as discussed further herein.

During operation of patent portfolio and annuity management system 102,data from multiple data sources (internal and external) is imported intoor accessed by the operations database 116. Internal sources may includedata from portfolio management and annuity payment services affiliatedwith management system 102. External sources may include websites ordatabases associated with foreign and domestic patent offices,assignment databases, WIPO, and INPADOC. In various embodiments, thedata is scraped and parsed from the websites if it is unavailablethrough a database. The data may be gathered using API calls to thesources when available. The data may be imported and stored in theoperations database on a scheduled basis, such as weekly, monthly,quarterly, or some other regular or periodic interval. Alternatively,the data may be imported on-demand.

After data importation, the data may be standardized into a commonformat. For example, database records from internal or external sourcesmay not be in a compatible format with the operations database. Dataconditioning may include data rearrangement, normalization, filtering(e.g., removing duplicates), sorting, binning, or other operations totransform the data into a common format (e.g., using similar dateformats and name formats).

FIG. 2 is an example user interface 200 of patent portfolio and annuitymanagement system 102. User interface 200 is illustrated with multipleuser interface elements. In an example embodiment, a user interfaceelement is a graphical or textual element that a user may interact withto cause an application to perform an assigned action for the interfaceelement. Data representing user interface 200 may be transmitted vianetwork 106 and presented on a display of user terminal 104 through theuse of a web browser. A user (e.g., manager of a patent portfolio) mayinteract with the user interface elements of user interface 200 throughthe use of an input device (e.g., stylus, cursor, mouse, finger) of theuser terminal. In an embodiment, a user selection is based on thecoordinates of the input device as it makes contact with the display orwhere a user “clicks” the mouse. The coordinates are compared to thecoordinates of the user input element to determine the selection. Thetype of user elements, names, and layout depicted in FIG. 2 are intendedto be an illustration of an example user interface of patent portfolioand annuity management system 100. Other types of user elements, names,and layouts may be used.

The user interface elements may include my matters 202, patent watches204, company watches 206 and prior art 207. These elements may be usedto select a context/view of the portfolio and annuity management system.For example, my matters lists the patents included within a portfolio ofa user, patent watches lists information on patents that the user hasindicated the management system is to watch, and company watches listsinformation on companies that the user has indicated the system shouldwatch. Prior art 207 allows a user to perform analysis on prior art.Further details of each of these are included herein.

Date boxes 208 and 210 are user elements that allow a user to select atime period. Amount due box 112 displays the amount due with respect toannuities for patents in the portfolio of the user within the periodindicated by date boxes 208 and 210. Upon activating (e.g., clicking)one of the date boxes, a user may be presented with a calendar whichallows the selection of a date. Upon selecting a date, the date boxeswill update to reflect the user's choice.

Drop-down menu 214 includes a list of portfolios that a user of themanagement system 102 is authorized to view. For example, before userinterface 200 is displayed, a login screen may be presented to the userwhich requests a user ID and password. In various embodiments, the userID is associated with one or more portfolios. In turn, each portfolio isassociated with one or more matters. Matters may include US and foreignissued patents, pending patents, abandoned patents, and not yet filedapplications. Thus, upon selection of a portfolio using drop-down menu214, user interface 200 is populated with matters associated with theportfolio.

Checkbox 216 is an option to only display matters that currently have anannuity due. Drop-down menu 218 allows further filtering of matters. Forexample the matters may be filtered by US patents only, US patentapplications, and foreign only.

In various embodiments, activation of button 220 updates user interface200 to reflect the choices made by the user with respect to date boxes208 and 210, checkbox 216, and drop-down menu 218. For example, amountdue box 112 will be updated to reflect the amount due within the newperiod and the matters listed under column headings 222 may be filtered.In various embodiments, user interface 200 is updated as the userselections are made with respect to elements 208 to 218 withoutactivating button 220.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of patent portfolio and annuity managementsystem 102, according to an example embodiment. Illustrated are userdatabase 302, portfolio database 304, matter database 306, watchdatabase 308, product database 310, analytics database 312, input module314, parsing module 316, analytics module 318, display module 320,filtering module 322, and mapping module 324, and payment module 326. Invarious embodiments, the data stored in databases 302, 304, 306, 308,and 310 may be in the same or multiple physical locations. For example,portfolio database 304 may be located in one or more computersassociated with a portfolio management service. In various embodiments,patent portfolio and annuity management system 102 may mirror databasesstored in other locations. In an embodiment, when a request is made toaccess data stored in the databases, management system 102 determineswhere the data is located and directs the request to the appropriatelocation.

In an example embodiment user database 302 stores data representingusers of patent portfolio and annuity management system 102. The datamay include data fields of user credentials including a user ID andpassword and access rights with respect to the management system 102.The user ID may be the same as the user ID of other systems associatedwith management system 102. For example the user ID may be used in aportfolio management system. In this manner, access rights of the userwith respect to the portfolio management system may follow to themanagement system 102. In various embodiments, each user ID isassociated with one or more portfolio IDs. Thus, when a user logs intothe management system 102, the user is presented with access to only theportfolios that have been associated with the user ID. More or fewerdata fields associated with a user may be included in a user entrystored in user database 302.

Portfolio database 304, in an example embodiment, stores datarepresenting portfolios of one or more matters. A matter may includeforeign or domestic issued patents in addition to applications. Datastored in portfolio database 304 may initially have been generated in aportfolio management system and imported into patent portfolio andannuity management system 102 through the use of one or more API callsor direct access to the data in the portfolio management system. Invarious embodiments, a portfolio may be generated by user using themanagement system 102. For example, user interface may be presented tothe user requesting a name in portfolio and identifiers of matters to beincluded in the portfolio. In an embodiment, a portfolio entry inportfolio database 304 includes data fields of portfolio ID andportfolio name. Additionally, a data field for matter ID may also beincluded in an entry in the portfolio database. Thus, each portfolio maybe associated with one or more matters through the use of the matter IDdata field. More or fewer data fields associated with a portfolio may beincluded in a portfolio entry of portfolio database 304.

In an embodiment, matter database 306 stores data representing matters.Each matter may be associated with one or more portfolios as well as oneor more watches. In some embodiments, a matter is associated with noportfolios or watches. In an embodiment, a matter entry includes datafields representing a matter ID, title (e.g., the name of the patent orapplication), type of the matter (e.g., application, issued patent, PCTapplication), status of the matter (e.g., issued, abandoned, allowed), alink to the patent office where the matter was filed, a link to a PDFdownload of the matter, abstract of the matter, inventors of the matter,current owner of the matter, cited references on the face of the matter,filed date, issue date, docket number, and annuity information (e.g.,due date, country, and amount due). In some embodiments, other patentreference documents or prior art in any form may be stored andassociated with one or more matters. More or fewer data fieldsassociated with a patent may be included in a matter entry stored inmatter database 306. In an example embodiment, matter database 306 maystore a patent matter database, wherein this database includes dataabout the patent matters. The data may include for at least one patentmatter a claim set or statement of invention and a priority date for theclaim set or statement of invention. Matter database 306 may also storea database of prior art documents (also known as “references”), whereinthe prior art database includes data about the prior art documents. Thedata may include for at least one prior art document a priority date orpublication date of the document. One or more of the prior art documentsmay be associated with a first patent matter in the patent matterdatabase.

In various embodiments, a matter is associated with one or more othermatters as a family with a family ID. Family members may be prioritydocuments, continuation patents/applications, divisionalpatents/applications, and foreign patent/application counterparts. In anembodiment, family information is determined according to an externalsource such as INPADOC. Patent reference documents and/or other priorart may be manually or automatically stored, cross-cited and associatedwith related family matters, for example.

In an embodiment, watch database 308 stores data representing userpreferences with respect to objects the user wants to track (e.g.,watch). In an embodiment, an object is a company or a matter. Withrespect to matters, a user may indicate a preference to track the matterfor any forward citations within a time period (e.g., 60 days, 3 months,etc). Thus, watch database 308 may store entries with a Watch ID that isassociated with a User ID and a matter ID. With respect to companies, auser may indicate a preference to watch for publications or issuedpatents with a timer period. Thus, watch database 308 may store entrieswith a Watch ID, a user ID, and a company name. In various embodiments,the watches are user ID specific such that no matter what profile theuser is viewing, the watches do not change.

In an embodiment, product database 310 stores data representingproducts. The products may be actual products manufactured by the user,products yet to be released, planned products, products covered in alicensing agreement, or a fictional product. In various embodiments,product database 310 stores entries with a product ID and product namewhich are associated with a user ID. In various embodiments, a user maytag a product as associated with a matter. Thus, an entry in the productdatabase may also be associated with a matter ID.

In various embodiments, analytics database 312 stores data representinginformation on matters and companies associated with patent portfolioand annuity management system 102. This information may be organizedaccording to an individual matter, a portfolio, a family, or company.The information may be gathered from internal or external sources ofpatent portfolio and annuity management system 102 or may be generatedby examining the data stored in one or more databases of the managementsystem 102.

In various embodiments, information for an individual matter may includestatus (e.g., disclosure received, drafting, filed, completed-waitingexamination, in prosecution, allowed, issued), cited prior art, list andtype of rejections (e.g., 35 U.S.C. §101, 102, 103) number of claimsallowed, office action count, interviews held, IDS statements filed,attorney fees to date, and PTO fees to date. Further metrics for anindividual matter stored in analytics database 312 may include, timewaiting for examiner, total time in examination, time waiting for PTOwhile in examination, and time on appeal. Additional prosecution detailsformatter may include an upcoming docket dates (e.g., due dates foroffice action, IDS due dates, etc.). A claim prosecution history chartmay also be stored in analytics database 312 for each matter. Theprosecution history may include a history of claim amendments andarguments made in prosecution.

In various embodiments, analytics for an individual matter may alsoinclude data representing a claim chart. The claim chart may include oneor more scope concepts on one axis and claims on the other axis. In anembodiment, a scope concept is a textual description of what a patentclaim is at least limited to. Thus, if a claim comprises A, B, & C ascope concept may be A. In various embodiments, a scope concept for theclaim may be broader than A because the claim will still be limited tothe broader scope concept. In an embodiment, the claim charts storemappings between claims and scope concepts. The claim chart may includea variety of levels of granularity of scope concepts. Some claims may bemapped to all of the scope concepts while others may not be mapped toany scope concepts. In various embodiments, the mappings may havealready been generated in a program external to the management system(e.g., a portfolio mapping system). In various embodiments, claim chartsmay be combined at the portfolio level. Thus, a portfolio level chartmay include scope concepts for all the claims (or in some examples onlythe independent claims) in the portfolio.

In various embodiments, portfolio and family analytics information maybe stored in analytics database 312 based on aggregating the metrics foran individual matter. In an embodiment, the analytics of a family maydiffer from those in a portfolio as not all family member matters may bepart of a portfolio. Additionally, the analytics may be stored formultiple time periods such that comparisons may be made between metricscurrently and metrics a year ago (or other time period).

Aggregated metrics may include a total patents and applications, pendingand waiting for examination, in prosecution with no claims allowed, inprosecution with some claims allowed, appealed, notice of allowancereceived, and issued. These metrics may be compiled for both US andinternational matters in the portfolio. Additional information mayinclude the international portfolio distribution by country. An agedistribution of the portfolio may also be compiled. For example theportfolio may be broken down by less than one year old, 1 to 3 yearsold, 3 to 5 years old, 5 to 10 years old, 10 to 20 years old, and 20 ormore years old. Recent filing and issue activity as well as upcomingFord filing deadlines may be stored in analytics database 312.

In various embodiments, prosecution metrics across a portfolio or familyare determined and stored in analytics database 312. This data mayinclude matters waiting for examination, matters in examination, mattersappealed, and cases allowed but not yet issued. Analytics with respectoffice actions may also be compiled and stored. For example success ofallowance after a first office action response, a second response, etc.,may be stored in analytics database 312. Additional prosecutionanalytics may include allowance rate (e.g., 10%) after a telephoneinterview, allowance after an in-person interview, percentage ofinterviews with response, number and type of rejection, average time inprosecution (e.g., in months), average time to file a response, andaverage time to next office action. Further, the list of recentlyallowed cases, recently appeal cases, stalled cases, and recentlyabandoned cases may also be stored for each portfolio and family inanalytics database 312.

In various embodiments, data stored in the database for group of mattersin a portfolio or family is analyzed to determine the top (e.g., ten)most cited patents, the top most cited inventors, top most cited priorart owners (e.g., according to assignment documents or the face of thepatent), newly (e.g., within the last 60 days) cited prior art owners,and top most cited prior art inventors. This information may be storedin analytics database 312.

In various embodiments, annuity cost information regarding costprojections for both US issued patents and international patents mayalso be stored. Upcoming foreign filing deadlines with respect toannuities may also be stored in analytics database 312.

In various embodiments, the results of keyword analysis on one or morematters and/or prior art references may be stored in analytics database312. The keyword analysis may be based on the occurrences of thekeywords in the matter or references to derive a score or keywordoverlap.

In various embodiments, input module 314 receives data from multiplesources where it may be further processed by one or more other modulesand stored in one or more of databases 302-312. For example, inputmodule 314 may be configured to utilize one or more APIs to data fromone or more patent data stores (e.g., public PAIR, private PAIR,INPADOC, foreign patent offices, patent docketing systems, portfoliomanagement systems, etc). The data may include published patentdocuments, patent applications, office actions or other patent officecorrespondence, prior art references, claim mappings, dockets dates, andannuity payment data.

In various embodiments, input module 314 is configured to receive inputfrom one or more user interface elements. For example, the managementsystem 102 may present multiple user interfaces to users. These userinterfaces may enable users to input data directly into databases302-312, instruct the management system to retrieve data from patentdata stores, and instruct the management system to perform variousoperations on the data in databases 302-312.

Additionally, input module 314 may be configured to determine theselection of one or more user interface elements by a user and initiatethe action associated with the selected user interface element. Forexample user interface element may include a drop-down menu to select aportfolio. Input module 314 may be configured to receive a selection ofthe portfolio and a drop-down menu. Then, input module 314 may pass theselection to one or more other modules for further processing. Forexample, display module 320 may update the drop-down menu to indicatethe selection of a portfolio.

In various embodiments, parsing module 316 takes the data that hasinitially been inputted by input module 314 and formats it according tothe data fields of databases 302-312 as discussed above. For example,consider a patent publication that is been inputted by input module 314.Parsing module 316 may use a combination of automatic image recognitionand text analysis to determine the filing date, issue date, title,abstract, and claims of the patent. In some embodiments, parsing module316 may flag certain pieces of data that had been determined to bepotentially inaccurate (e.g., a number could not be read). A user ofmanagement system 102 may then examine the flagged data and manuallyenter in the information.

The resulting data that has been parsed by parsing module 316 may thenbe entered as an entry in one or more of databases 302-312. This may beaccomplished by, for example, formulating an SQL query with the parsedinformation. In various embodiments parsing module 316 may parsemultiple piece of information before generating a database entry. Forexample, input module 314 may receive a docket number for an issuedpatent. The docket number may be combined with the information parsefrom the issued patent to form an entry in matter database 306.

In various embodiments, analytics module 318 is configured to examineand run calculations on the data stored in the databases 302-312 togenerate the analytics discussed previously. For example, analyticsmodule 318 may formulate an SQL query that retrieves the number of timesthat a prior art reference has been cited within a portfolio. This querymay be run for each prior art cited within the portfolio to determine alist of the most cited (e.g., the top ten) prior art references with aportfolio. In an embodiment, the queries are formulated and run asrequested by a user. In an embodiment, once the analytics informationhas been determined it is stored within analytics database 312. Invarious embodiments, queries are formulated and run on a period basis(e.g., nightly) and entries in analytics database 312 may be updated toreflect any changes.

In various embodiments, the analytics module 318 is configured toreceive input identifying a pool of keywords for a first patent matterin matter database 306 and associated prior art documents in matterdatabase 306. The term keyword is intended to include individualkeywords as well as a number of keywords grouped together making up akey phrase, for example. The module 318 may be further configured toperform a keyword analysis on the first patent matter and associatedprior art documents based on occurrences of the keywords in the firstpatent matter and associated prior art documents. The module 318 may befurther configured to identify, based on the analysis, keywordsoccurring uniquely in the first patent matter. In view of their uniquelyoccurring nature, these keywords may be regarded as claim elementspotentially differentiating the claim set or statement of invention overthe disclosures contained in the one or more prior art documents.

The analytics module 318 may be further configured to perform thekeyword analysis automatically on the first patent matter and the one ormore prior art documents simultaneously. Prior art button 207 shown inFIG. 2 may be selected by a portfolio manager to enter further userdisplays and start the automatic keyword analysis. The analytics modulemay be further configured to receive synonyms of the keywords to add tothe pool of identified keywords. In this way, the keyword analysis maybe enhanced.

The analytics module 318 may be further configured to automatically rankthe prior art documents based on the degree of differentiation betweenthe first patent matter and the one or more prior art documents, basedon the keyword analysis. The analytics module may be further configuredto rank the prior art document with the highest degree ofdifferentiation as lowest ranked in potential relevance to the claim setor statement of invention of the first patent matter. Similarly, theanalytics module may be further configured to rank the prior artdocument with the lowest degree of differentiation as highest ranked inpotential relevance to the claim set or statement of invention of thefirst patent matter.

The analytics module 318 may be further configured to derive a keyworddifferentiation score, based on the keyword analysis, for the one ormore prior art documents. The analytics module may be further configuredto derive a keyword overlap score, based on the keyword analysis, forthe one or more prior art documents.

The analytics module 318 may be further configured to identify the citedinventors or assignees of the prior art documents and automatically rankthe prior art documents by inventor or assignee having the most keywordsoccurring in one or more of the prior art documents.

In an embodiment, display module 320 is configured to display userinterfaces and information retrieved from one or more databases 302-312.For example display module 320 may generate user interface 200 of FIG.2. If a user is accessing management system 102 remotely (e.g., througha web browser) display module 320 may be configured to transmit datarepresenting a user-interface through a network to a user terminal. Invarious embodiments, display module 320 is configured to generate one ormore charts of data stored in databases 302-312. For example, displaymodule 320 may generate a pie chart of the top 10 inventors within aportfolio.

With reference to the keyword analysis described above, display module320 may be configured to display a user interface wherein the displaymodule is further configured to visually present the ranking of the oneor more prior art documents in the user interface. The display module320 may be further configured to provide, in the user interface, avisual indication of the ranking in a time line.

The display module 320 may be further configured to visually provide, inthe user interface, a time line representing the priority date of thefirst patent matter, and the priority or publication dates of the oreach prior art document. The display module may be further configured toprovide a visual indication of the degree of differentiation of the oneor more prior documents in the time line.

The display module 320 may be further configured to provide, in the userinterface, a visual indication of the technology class and/or subclassof the first patent matter and the one or more prior art documents. Inan example embodiment, the display module may be further configured toprovide, in the user interface, a time line or chart indicating when oneor more of the identified keywords first appeared in one or more of theprior art documents.

In various embodiments, filtering module 322 is configured to filter aset of matters according to a user preference. For example, a user mayactivate a check box that indicates only pending matters should be shownin a user interface. Filtering module 322 may formulate a queryconsistent with retrieving only pending matters. The results of thequery may then be shared with display module 320 where the userinterface may be updated.

In various embodiments, mapping module 324 is configured to receive orgenerate mappings from a product to a matter. This may be accomplished,for example, by receiving a selection of a product by user and a matterby the user. In various embodiments, mapping module 324 is configured topresent an automated mapping of the product to a matter for user toconfirm or deny. For example, mapping module 324 may present a claimchart for an issued patent to a user. As discussed, the claim chartincludes one or more scope concepts that one or more the claims of thepatent are limited to. In conjunction with input module 314, mappingmodule 324, may receive selections of the user of one or more of thescope concepts that are potentially affiliated with the product. Thus, acomparison may be made between what the claims are limited to and whatthe product may be. For example, if a product, as defined by theselection of one or more scope concepts by the user, is affiliatedtoward scope concepts A, B, and C and claim 1 of the patent has beenmapped to scope concepts A, B, and C, the mapping module 324 may presentan option to map the product to the patent. In various embodiments theuser may override this recommendation and select to not map the productto the patent. Similarly, a user may indicate that a product isaffiliated with the patent even if the scope concepts do not match.

In various embodiments, the mapping module 324 is configured to receiveor generate mappings from prior art to a matter. This may beaccomplished, for example, by receiving a selection of prior art and amatter by the user. The selection of the prior art may be based on citedreferences or though other external prior art search. The selections maybe conducted manually by a user, or automatically by analytics module318, for example. In various embodiments, mapping module 324 isconfigured to present an automated mapping of the prior art to a matterfor user to review. In various embodiments, the mapping module can beconfigured to carry out any of the keyword analysis described above inrelation to analytics module 318.

In an embodiment, once the product or prior art mapping information hasbeen determined it is stored within analytics database 312 or matterdatabase 306. In various embodiments, queries are formulated and run ona period basis (e.g., nightly) and entries in analytics database 312 ormatter database 306 may be updated to reflect any changes.

In various embodiments, payment module 326 is configured to receiveselections by the user of which annuities to pay for matters in aportfolio. Additionally, payment module 326 may receive user preferencesrelated to the payment of the annuities. Payment module 326 may receivepayment information from a user and forward the payment information tothe appropriate agency/office. In some embodiments, the annuitymanagement system 102 organizes payment of the annuity on behalf of theuser and the user pays annuity management system 102.

Some embodiments of the present inventive subject matter include methodsfor electronic analysis of prior art in a patent portfolio and annuitymanagement system 102. One such embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 4. Insome embodiments, method 400 includes maintaining a patent matterdatabase 402 wherein the database includes data about the patentmatters. The data may include for at least one patent matter a claim setor statement of invention and a priority date for the claim set orstatement of invention. The method may further comprise maintaining adatabase of prior art documents 404 wherein the prior art databaseincludes data about the prior art documents. In some embodiments, thedata may include for at least one prior art document a priority date orpublication date of the document. The method 400 may further compriseassociating one or more prior art documents with a first patent matterin the patent matter database 406 and identifying a pool of keywords forthe first patent matter and associated prior art documents 408. Themethod may further comprise performing a keyword analysis on the firstpatent matter and associated prior art documents based on occurrences ofthe keywords in the first patent matter and associated prior artdocuments 410. The method may further comprise identifying, based on theanalysis, keywords occurring uniquely in the first patent matter aspotential claim elements differentiating the claim set or statement ofinvention over the disclosures contained in the one or more prior artdocuments 412.

In some embodiments of method 300, the keyword analysis may be performedautomatically on the first patent matter and the one or more prior artdocuments simultaneously. The method may further comprise manuallyadding synonyms of the keywords to the pool of identified keywords.

Further example embodiments of the method may comprise automaticallyranking the prior art documents based on the degree of differentiationbetween the first patent matter and the one or more prior art documents.The prior art document with the highest degree of differentiation may belowest ranked in potential relevance to the claim set or statement ofinvention of the first patent matter. The prior art document with thelowest degree of differentiation may be highest ranked in potentialrelevance to the claim set or statement of invention of the first patentmatter.

In yet further embodiments of the method 300, the method may furthercomprise deriving a keyword differentiation score, based on the keywordanalysis, for the one or more prior art documents. The method mayfurther comprise deriving a keyword overlap score, based on the keywordanalysis, for the one or more prior art documents.

In further example embodiments, the method may further comprise visuallypresenting the ranking of the one or more prior art documents in agraphic user interface. The method may further comprise providing, inthe graphic user interface, a visual indication of the ranking in a timeline. The method may yet further comprise visually providing, in agraphic user interface, a time line representing the priority date ofthe first patent matter, and the priority or publication dates of the oreach prior art document. A visual indication of the degree ofdifferentiation of the one or more prior art documents may be providedin the time line. The method may further comprise providing, in agraphic user interface, a visual indication of the technology classand/or subclass of the first patent matter and the one or more prior artdocument. The method may yet further comprise providing, in a graphicuser interface, a time line or chart indicating when one or more of theidentified keywords first appeared in one or more of the prior artdocuments.

In some example embodiments, the method may further comprisingidentifying the cited inventors or assignees (referred to as “Owner” inFIG. 5 below) of the prior art documents and automatically ranking theprior art documents by inventor or assignee having the most keywordsoccurring in one or more of the prior art documents.

Reference is now made to FIG. 5 which shows a user interface 500 whichmay be used to facilitate the methods of the present inventive subjectmatter, according to example embodiments. The user interface 500 may bedisplayed by display module 320 described above. The user interface maybe provided in a computer monitor or mobile device. The type of userelements, names, and layout depicted in FIG. 5 are intended to be anillustration of an example user interface of patent portfolio andannuity management system 100. Other types of user elements, names, andlayouts may be used.

Shown at element 502 is the identification of a first patent matter inthe patent matter database stored in matter database 306. Associatedwith the patent matter, either automatically by the system 102 ormanually by a portfolio manager for example, are one or more prior artdocuments stored in a prior art database also contained, in this exampleembodiment, in the matter database 302. The identity of these prior artdocuments is shown in user element 504. The prior art documents may besourced through citation by a patent office or by a patentability searchconducted by a portfolio manager, for example.

A pool of keywords is shown in user element 506. The keywords may bemanually selected by a portfolio manager, for example, or generatedautomatically by the system 102. Synonyms of the keywords may be enteredmanually at element 508 so that the keyword analysis described in method400 above may be enhanced and, if necessary, performed again byselecting user element 510 marked “Run”. The keywords may be used toperform a keyword analysis in accordance with any one or more of themethod embodiments or systems described above.

In some example embodiments, once the keyword analysis has beenperformed, the prior art documents are ranked based on their degree ofdifferentiation from patent matter in element 502 as shown by arrow 512.The most relevant prior art document (i.e., with the most occurrences ofa given keyword present in the patent matter 502) may be shown at thetop of the ranking list in element 504, while less relevant prior artdocuments (i.e., with fewer occurrences of such keywords) may followfurther down in the list. The ranking order may be reversed. Each priorart document may be accorded a keyword differentiation or keywordoverlap score as shown at 513. In this way, a portfolio manager seekingto make an informed decision about whether to file or renew a givenpatent matter can quickly ascertain the potential relevance of prior artimpacting the claim set or statement of invention in patent matter 502under review.

In yet further example embodiments, a time line may be provided as shownat user element 514. The time line may run from a given date in thefurther past, as shown for example at 516, to a more recent date asshown for example at 518. Spread along the timeline 514, in accordancewith their priority or publication dates, are the respective prior artdocuments listed in element 504. User elements 520 may be used todisplay details of the prior art documents, such as the differentiationor overlap scores, the prior art owner (assignee or inventors), and thekeywords occurring in the respective prior art documents. A user element522 may be provided to display similar details for the patent matter,including for example the identity of keywords (in the illustratedexample “xxx”) not found in any of the prior art documents. A similarconclusion may be presented in element 524.

In yet further example embodiments, pie charts 526 and 528 may bedisplayed illustrating, for example, the number of occurrences ofkeywords in the prior art (as shown in 526) or the extent to which thevarious owners of the prior art own the more relevant prior artdocuments (in 528).

Modules, Components and Logic

Certain embodiments are described herein as including logic or a numberof components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules may constitute eithersoftware modules (e.g., code embodied (1) on a non-transitorymachine-readable medium or (2) in a transmission signal) orhardware-implemented modules. A hardware-implemented module is tangibleunit capable of performing certain operations and may be configured orarranged in a certain manner. In example embodiments, one or morecomputer systems (e.g., a standalone, client or server computer system)or one or more processors may be configured by software (e.g., anapplication or application portion) as a hardware-implemented modulethat operates to perform certain operations as described herein.

In various embodiments, a hardware-implemented module may be implementedmechanically or electronically. For example, a hardware-implementedmodule may comprise dedicated circuitry or logic that is permanentlyconfigured (e.g., as a special-purpose processor, such as a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specific integratedcircuit (ASIC)) to perform certain operations. A hardware-implementedmodule may also comprise programmable logic or circuitry (e.g., asencompassed within a general-purpose processor or other programmableprocessor) that is temporarily configured by software to perform certainoperations. It will be appreciated that the decision to implement ahardware-implemented module mechanically, in dedicated and permanentlyconfigured circuitry, or in temporarily configured circuitry (e.g.,configured by software) may be driven by cost and time considerations.

Accordingly, the term “hardware-implemented module” should be understoodto encompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physicallyconstructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired) or temporarily ortransitorily configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certainmanner and/or to perform certain operations described herein.Considering embodiments in which hardware-implemented modules aretemporarily configured (e.g., programmed), each of thehardware-implemented modules need not be configured or instantiated atany one instance in time. For example, where the hardware-implementedmodules comprise a general-purpose processor configured using software,the general-purpose processor may be configured as respective differenthardware-implemented modules at different times. Software mayaccordingly configure a processor, for example, to constitute aparticular hardware-implemented module at one instance of time and toconstitute a different hardware-implemented module at a differentinstance of time.

Hardware-implemented modules can provide information to, and receiveinformation from, other hardware-implemented modules. Accordingly, thedescribed hardware-implemented modules may be regarded as beingcommunicatively coupled. Where multiple of such hardware-implementedmodules exist contemporaneously, communications may be achieved throughsignal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuits and buses) thatconnect the hardware-implemented modules. In embodiments in whichmultiple hardware-implemented modules are configured or instantiated atdifferent times, communications between such hardware-implementedmodules may be achieved, for example, through the storage and retrievalof information in memory structures to which the multiplehardware-implemented modules have access. For example, onehardware-implemented module may perform an operation, and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware-implemented module may then,at a later time, access the memory device to retrieve and process thestored output. Hardware-implemented modules may also initiatecommunications with input or output devices, and can operate on aresource (e.g., a collection of information).

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modulesthat operate to perform one or more operations or functions. The modulesreferred to herein may, in some example embodiments, compriseprocessor-implemented modules.

Similarly, the methods described herein may be at least partiallyprocessor-implemented. For example, at least some of the operations of amethod may be performed by one or processors or processor-implementedmodules. The performance of certain of the operations may be distributedamong the one or more processors, not only residing within a singlemachine, but deployed across a number of machines. In some exampleembodiments, the processor or processors may be located in a singlelocation (e.g., within a home environment, an office environment or as aserver farm), while in other embodiments the processors may bedistributed across a number of locations.

The one or more processors may also operate to support performance ofthe relevant operations in a “cloud computing” environment or as a“software as a service” (SaaS). For example, at least some of theoperations may be performed by a group of computers (as examples ofmachines including processors), these operations being accessible via anetwork (e.g., the Internet) and via one or more appropriate interfaces(e.g., Application Program Interfaces (APIs).)

Electronic Apparatus and System

Example embodiments may be implemented in digital electronic circuitry,or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or in combinations of them.Example embodiments may be implemented using a computer program product,e.g., a computer program tangibly embodied in an information carrier,e.g., in a machine-readable medium for execution by, or to control theoperation of, data processing apparatus, e.g., a programmable processor,a computer, or multiple computers.

A computer program can be written in any form of programming language,including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed inany form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, subroutine,or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computerprogram can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiplecomputers at one site or distributed across multiple sites andinterconnected by a communication network.

In example embodiments, operations may be performed by one or moreprogrammable processors executing a computer program to performfunctions by operating on input data and generating output. Methodoperations can also be performed by, and apparatus of exampleembodiments may be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry,e.g., a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC).

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other. Inembodiments deploying a programmable computing system, it will beappreciated that that both hardware and software architectures requireconsideration. Specifically, it will be appreciated that the choice ofwhether to implement certain functionality in permanently configuredhardware (e.g., an ASIC), in temporarily configured hardware (e.g., acombination of software and a programmable processor), or a combinationof permanently and temporarily configured hardware may be a designchoice. Below are set out hardware (e.g., machine) and softwarearchitectures that may be deployed, in various example embodiments.

Example Machine Architecture and Machine-Readable Medium

In some example embodiments, a machine is shown in the example form of acomputer system 102 within which instructions, for causing the machineto perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, may beexecuted. In alternative embodiments, the machine operates as astandalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to othermachines. In a networked deployment, the machine may operate in thecapacity of a server or a client machine in server-client networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment. The machine may be a personal computer (PC), atablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), acellular telephone, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge,or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further,while only a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines that individually orjointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform anyone or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The example computer system 102 may include a processor (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU) or both), a mainmemory and a static memory, which communicate with each other via a bus.The computer system 102 may further include a video display unit (e.g.,a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). Thecomputer system 102 may also include an alphanumeric input device (e.g.,a keyboard), a user interface (UI) navigation device (e.g., a mouse), adisk drive unit, a signal generation device (e.g., a speaker) and anetwork interface device.

Machine-Readable Medium

The term “machine-readable medium” may include a single medium ormultiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/orassociated caches and servers) that store the one or more instructionsor data structures. The term “machine-readable medium” shall also betaken to include any tangible medium that is capable of storing,encoding or carrying instructions for execution by the machine and thatcause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of thepresent invention, or that is capable of storing, encoding or carryingdata structures utilized by or associated with such instructions. Theterm “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken to include,but not be limited to, solid-state memories, and optical and magneticmedia. Specific examples of machine-readable media include non-volatilememory, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g.,Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically ErasableProgrammable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), and flash memory devices;magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks;magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

Transmission Medium

The term “transmission medium” shall be taken to include any intangiblemedium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying instructions forexecution by the machine, and includes digital or analog communicationssignals or other intangible media to facilitate communication of suchsoftware.

Although an embodiment has been described with reference to specificexample embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications andchanges may be made to these embodiments without departing from thebroader spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative ratherthan a restrictive sense. The accompanying drawings that form a parthereof, show by way of illustration, and not of limitation, specificembodiments in which the subject matter may be practiced. Theembodiments illustrated are described in sufficient detail to enablethose skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed herein.Other embodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such thatstructural and logical substitutions and changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of this disclosure. This Detailed Description,therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope ofvarious embodiments is defined only by the appended claims, along withthe full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred toherein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merelyfor convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope ofthis application to any single invention or inventive concept if morethan one is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments havebeen illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that anyarrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coverany and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the above description.

Abstract

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.§1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quicklyascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted withthe understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit thescope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing DetailedDescription, it can be seen that various features are grouped togetherin a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed embodiments require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separate embodiment.

1. A method comprising: maintaining a patent matter database, thedatabase including data about the patent matters, the data including forat least one patent matter: a claim set or statement of invention, and apriority date for the claim set or statement of invention; maintaining adatabase of prior art documents, wherein the prior art database includesdata about the prior art documents; associating a prior art documentwith a first patent matter in the patent matter database; performing anautomatic keyword analysis on both the first patent matter andassociated prior art document, and automatically identifying a keywordpool for the first patent matter and prior art document based onoccurrences of one or more keywords in the first patent matter andassociated prior art document; automatically identifying, based on theanalysis, at least one keyword occurring uniquely in the first patentmatter; and combining at a user interface information including at leastidentification of the first patent matter, the keyword pool, the atleast one keyword occurring uniquely in the first patent matter, and atimeline representing the priority date of the first patent matter andthe priority or publication date of the prior art document.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising adding synonyms of the keywords tothe keyword pool.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprisingautomatically ranking the prior art document based on a degree ofdifferentiation between the first patent matter and the prior artdocument.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein a prior art document with ahighest degree of differentiation is lowest ranked in potentialrelevance to the claim set or statement of invention of the at least onepatent matter.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein a prior art documentwith a lowest degree of differentiation is highest ranked in potentialrelevance to the claim set or statement of invention of the at least onepatent matter.
 6. The method of claim 3, further comprising visuallypresenting the ranking of the prior art document in the user interface.7. The method of claim 6, further comprising providing, in the userinterface, a visual indication of the ranking in association with thetime line.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing, inthe user interface, a visual indication of the technology class and/orsubclass of the first patent matter and the prior art document.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising providing, in the user interface,an indication on the time line of when one or more of the keywords inthe keyword pool first appeared in a set of prior art documents.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising identifying a cited inventor orassignee of the prior art document and automatically ranking the priorart document by inventor or assignee having the most keywords occurringin the prior art document.
 11. A patent portfolio management system, thesystem comprising: a patent matter database, wherein the databaseincludes data about the patent matters, the data including for at leastone patent matter: a claim set or statement of invention, and a prioritydate for the claim set or statement of invention; a database of priorart documents, wherein the prior art database includes data about theprior art documents; a hardware-implemented analytics module includingat least one processor to: associate a prior art document with a firstpatent matter in the patent matter database; perform an automatickeyword analysis on both the first patent matter and associated priorart document and automatically identify a keyword pool for the firstpatent matter and associated prior art document based on occurrences ofone or more keywords in the first patent matter and associated prior artdocument; automatically identify, based on the analysis, at least onekeyword occurring uniquely in the first patent matter; and combine at auser interface information including at least identification of thefirst patent matter, the keyword pool, the at least one keywordoccurring uniquely in the first patent matter, and a timelinerepresenting the priority date of the first patent matter and thepriority or publication date of the prior art document.
 12. The systemof claim 11, wherein the analytics module is further to include synonymsof the keywords in the keyword pool.
 13. The system of claim 11, whereinthe analytics module is further automatically to rank the prior artdocument based on a degree of differentiation between the first patentmatter and the prior art document.
 14. The system of claim 13, whereinthe analytics module is further to rank a prior art document with thehighest degree of differentiation as lowest ranked in potentialrelevance to the claim set or statement of invention of the at least onepatent matter.
 15. The system of claim 13, wherein the analytics moduleis further to rank a prior art document with the lowest degree ofdifferentiation as highest ranked in potential relevance to the claimset or statement of invention of the at least one patent matter.
 16. Thesystem of claim 13, further comprising a display module to display auser interface, wherein the display module is further to visuallypresent the ranking of the prior art document in the user interface. 17.The system of claim 16, wherein the display module is further toprovide, in the user interface, a visual indication of the ranking inassociation with the time line.
 18. The system of claim 16, wherein thedisplay module is further to provide a visual indication of the degreeof differentiation of the prior document in association with the timeline.
 19. The system of claim 16, wherein the display module is furtherto provide, in the user interface, a visual indication of the technologyclass and/or subclass of the first patent matter and the prior artdocument.
 20. The system of claim 16, wherein the display module isfurther to provide, in the user interface, an indication on the timeline of when one or more of the keywords in the keyword pool firstappeared in a set of prior art documents.